


Family Reunions

by SgtLeppard



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Leon for Best Big Brother 2k16, elise is allergic to mushrooms, his cousin is annoying, leon is adopted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-06 05:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8735827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtLeppard/pseuds/SgtLeppard
Summary: Leon McCormick hates family reunions. Too many people, it's always hot outside, and he would generally prefer staying home and reading a book or playing a video game. But maybe one certain family reunion he just might like.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So before you read [or after, whichever you prefer], I'd like to clarify a few things
> 
> The majority of Leon's life experiences are based off of my own, including where he lives and the family reunion he's going to. There's a few differences, but it's mostly the same. As far as Takumi and company living there, it's because his dad is in the military, so he and his family are living on base. However, because his father is often going from place to place, the rest stay in a single area as a form of consistency for them, hence his absence
> 
> Leon's middle name is a headcanon of mine and is in reference to his English VA Max Mittelman. His cousin and adoptive sister are in reference to characters from Steel Magnolias
> 
> Camilla is married, hence her last name not being Nohr

I hate family reunions. I always have. I used to enjoy them when I was younger, since I didn't have much on my mind except for playing with other kids my age. Nowadays, the gatherings are stuffy and full of people that I'm not intimately familiar with. I mean, I only see them once a year, and in most cases, once a year is once too many. It doesn't help that I'm not related to any of them.

Oh yeah, did I mention I was adopted?

I've been living with this family since I was about two years old. My mother died in a flash flood in New Orleans. She didn't even get the chance to turn the car around before the road was completely submerged in water. A rescue boat managed to find us and the search leader pulled me out just in time. They were too late to save my mother. I had clung to the search leader crying for some time, or at least that's what I was told, and begging for her to let me see my mother. Little did I know that a few weeks later, she would become my new mother. Well, I just call her Mom.

Her name is Sally McCormick. She's an emergency dispatcher for the police department. She's a very nice woman and is the most supportive person I know. I may not be related to her, but I would definitely call her the best mom I ever had. Or at least the best mom I remember. Like I said, I was two when my biological mother died, so I don't really remember her.

When she took me in, she was already a single mother. Her daughter Shelby was about six at the time. It was just the three of us until I turned eleven when Mom took in my brother Charlie. He was a part of the foster care system and came from a bad home environment. He'd only been with us for a month before Mom decided to adopt him. I don't think I've seen a bigger smile on his face before then. It's a good thing he's with us permanently. He'd been in foster care for too long and it had begun to take its toll on him.

That about runs the extent of the adoptive family that I actually care about. The rest of the relatives and extended family? Yikes. The worst is my cousin Clairee. I don't think the definition of the phrase 'shut up' exists in her brain. She comes to every reunion and without fail manages to find me and talks my ear off. It's no secret that I don't like her, so I'm not quite sure why she bothers. It's worse since she's one of the handful of relatives that I see more than once a year. Well, both of our moms are sisters, so it's understandable. It doesn't mean I have to like being in her presence.

My only saving graces are that the reunion isn't until the weekend, and I don't go to school with Clairee.

"Leon!"

I turned my attention to the source of the voice, seeing my friend Takumi come up. We've been friends since middle school when his family first moved here. His sister -- also my girlfriend -- was smart enough to skip a couple of grades, so she's in our graduating class. Had she not, she would still be a sophomore. I still remember the day when I finally told Takumi that I wanted to date her. His main reaction was a little bit of shouting, plus what I assume was some sort of threatening in his mother tongue. Afterwards, he returned to normal and gave me his blessing with a smile. A little strange for someone who I was sure just gave me the shovel talk in Japanese, but what mattered was that he approved.

Takumi shoved his biology book in our shared locker. "What's this I hear about Sakura wanting to go to your family reunion?"

"Honestly," I answered, retrieving both of our history books and handing one to him, "I have no idea why she wants to go. Mom's fine with it and Shelby's driving herself up there, so it's not like we wouldn't have room in the car, but my relatives..."

"Whack-jobs?"

"Oh yeah." I shut the locker and replaced the combination lock.

"Mom doesn't have a problem with her going, it's just Ryouma and Hinoka are worried."

"They don't need to be worried. My relatives are just quirky weird, not psychopathic murderer weird." Which is true. As strange as my aunts and uncles and cousins are -- sheesh, I have a large family -- they're pretty harmless.

Takumi shrugged, "I don't blame them, honestly. But they want someone to go with her."

"And?"

"I volunteer as tribute."

I snorted. "You sure about that? I'm still not comfortable subjecting Sakura to them, much less you."

"Ah, I'll be fine," he replied. "Can't be that bad, right?"

My only answer was a raised eyebrow.

"So it's bad."

"Depends on your definition of bad."

We reached our class a couple of minutes before the tardy bell rang, so we took our seats and focused on the lesson.

\----------

School lunch is often described as tasting like complete cardboard and would sooner kill you quicker than most fast food restaurants in existence. However, this is Louisiana. The lunch ladies here actually know how to cook. I swear, this school breaks just about every stereotype that exists for high school. It's weird, yet comforting. And it's over lunch that I'm discussing the family reunion with Takumi and Sakura outside of the ROTC building.

"So when is the reunion again?" Takumi asked around a bite of his pizza.

"This Saturday," I answered. "We'll be leaving around 8 or 9 in the morning, and it'll be an hour to two hour drive to the church."

Takumi raised his eyebrow. "A church?"

"Well, the church's reception hall," I corrected. "Christine always rents it out every year since it's large enough to hold everyone."

"Just how big is your family?"

"You don't wanna know."

Sakura spoke up after what felt like an ungodly long time, "W-will we h-have to wear suits and d-dresses?"

I shook my head, "Just clean clothes that fit properly. Typically, most people our age, of which there are few, show up in jeans and T-shirts. Basically, just something presentable. Besides, it's way too hot to be wearing formal clothing. Casual wear is fine."

Sakura sighed in relief. I get the feeling that she's been stressing out for a while about what to wear. "What a-about shoes?"

I shrugged, "I personally vouch for tennis shoes or boots with proper traction. There's a lot of loose gravel and dirt, so I would highly recommend against heels or sandals."

"Right," Sakura mumbled to herself, nodding. She's definitely serious about wanting to appear presentable. I don't blame her. The majority of people that show up to the reunion tend to be middle to old age, with second place going to small children. That, and it's a freaking church. Naturally the elders are going to have a fit over someone wearing something they consider 'sacrilegious'. I'm agnostic, so I personally don't give a shit.

"So," Takumi asked, "why this weekend in particular?"

I shrugged again, "Tradition, I guess? It's always been held on the Saturday before Labour Day. Literally always. Like, no deviation whatsoever. Not to mention the amount of people that have to fly in or drive quite a distance to get there. The extra day is a godsend."

"Wait, where exactly is it being held?"

"A church, I told you."

"No, I mean like, _where_?"

"Arkansas."

Takumi nearly choked on his milk. "Arkansas!?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's practically on the state line, chill."

"H-He did say about a-an hour to t-two hour drive, Nii-sama," Sakura added before quickly stuffing a couple of tater tots in her mouth. Something tells me she's going to be doing a lot of that at the reunion to avoid talking to too many people. Once again, I don't blame her.

Takumi sighed, "I'll let Mom know all the details tonight."

The bell rang to head to class, and the conversation was over.

\----------

I sat on the couch, checking the time on my phone every once in a while. It's morning, it's too goddamn early for this, and where the hell are Takumi and Sakura? They said their mom would drop them off. Maybe they got the address wrong? No, I know my handwriting can be a little difficult to read, but I know for a fact that it's perfectly legible. I sighed. _It's only 7:20,_ I thought. _They're either still asleep or awake, but still getting ready. It is pretty early, after all. I know Mom wants us to head out at 8, but at least she planned for a late departure._

About ten minutes later, a knock at the door drew my attention. Opening the door, I saw it was Takumi and Sakura. "About time," I joked and let them in. Sakura waved behind them to someone who I can only assume is their mom as she drove off. It was tough to get a good look at her, since I never met her before. All I could see was black hair. A little unfitting, given what Takumi and Sakura look like. "I thought she was a redhead."

"She's our stepmother," Takumi answered, plopping down on the couch. "Our parents divorced about ten years ago, and Dad remarried not long after. Mother is a redhead. Mom..." He shook his head. "Nah. Kamui's the only one who takes after her, since she's her daughter."

I did see a second person in the car. "So that's who was in the car with her," I mused. "I thought that was Hinoka."

Chuckling, Takumi shook his head again. "Hinoka's hair is fire truck red. It looks like fucking paint."

I snickered, but before I could say anything else in edgewise, my mom came in the room. "Oh, your friends are here!" she said. "I thought you were talking to yourself again."

"I don't talk to myself."

"I beg to differ," she giggled, ruffling my hair. I hate it when she does that, but I guess I'm kind of partial to it as well. It was what kept me calm after my mother died. Just another reminder of how lucky I am to have not been killed in that flood as well, and to have a great mom like Sally. "So who's who?"

"Guys, this is my mom. Mom, this is Takumi and his sister Sakura."

"Sakura?" Mom raised an eyebrow. "You mean your girlfriend?"

Sakura and I both turned red as tomatoes. "Mom..."

Mom chuckled. "I kid, don't worry. Now come on, let's get the car loaded up. Charlie!"

"Leaving this soon?" Takumi smirked.

"She did say she wanted to leave by 8," I said.

"Charlie!" Mom huffed. "Ugh, I swear, if he's not awake. Charlie!"

"Want me to go check on him?" I offered.

"Please do, we gotta get moving."

I quickly went upstairs and banged on my brother's door. "Charlie! Come on, Mom said to get moving!"

"I don't wanna!" I can barely hear his muffled voice through the door. Apparently he didn't even bother to get out of bed.

"Look, if I don't get to get out of this, then you don't either, now come on. Get out of bed and let's go!"

"It's too early!"

"You can sleep in tomorrow, Charlie. Don't make me come in there."

I heard a groaning noise on the other side of the door, along with some shuffling. I know I shouldn't yell at my little brother, especially with the shit life he's lived until we took him in. I'll have to make it up to him, I know that much for sure. Eventually, Charlie emerged from his room, his hair sticking up in multiple places. Like the good brother I am, or at least hope to be, I pulled out a comb and gently pulled the cowlicks down.

"I really don't want to go," Charlie lamented. "I just wanna stay home for once..."

"I know, kiddo." I definitely felt bad for him. If Mom would let at least me stay home, then Charlie could stay home too. Unfortunately, he can't stay home by himself and I don't have a choice in the matter. "But hey, after we get home, we can play Halo."

Charlie perked up. "How much Halo?"

"As much Halo as you want."

Charlie smiled, "Then I get to be Arbiter this time." I prefer playing as Arbiter whenever we play Halo, but I guess a little change to cheer my brother up isn't so bad. "And I get first dibs on the grav hammer!"

I matched his smile. "Anything you want, kiddo."

"By the way, Leon," he giggled, "your undershirt is inside out."

Shit. This always happens. "Well, lemme go fix that and you head on downstairs. Mom's waiting on us, and Takumi and Sakura are here. I know you wanted to meet them."

Charlie's face lit up like a fireworks display at the Boardwalk and he immediately ran downstairs to greet our plus two. Meanwhile, I ducked into the bathroom real quick to fix my shirt. Did Sakura or Takumi not notice, or just didn't bother to tell me? Nah, they likely didn't notice. I mean, I am wearing a plaid shirt on top of it, which thankfully wasn't inside out.

After the quick fix, I rushed back downstairs to meet up with the others. Since our plus two were my best friend and my girlfriend, I decided to let Charlie ride shotgun.

"I was wondering if you were gonna fix that," Takumi snickered. Yep. They noticed. Sakura hadn't said anything, but with her covering her mouth the way she was, I knew she found it funny too. I can't really hold it against them. As I've said before, this happens a lot, and typically at least three people end up pointing it out. It's usually family, but occasionally other schoolmates speak up out of common courtesy. Some mean it as a jab, but I've long since learned to ignore it. It happened a lot more in middle school when people are much more immature. I honestly find it weird how the moment someone starts high school, they immediately seem to grow up, but maybe that's just another stereotype my school breaks.

Mom started the car up, making sure we had everything and everyone in the car. "By the way," I whispered to Takumi and Sakura, "I want to apologise in advance for Clairee."

"Who's Clairee?"

"You'll find out."

\----------

A short two hours later, we arrived at the church in Arkansas. I didn't see my aunt's car anywhere, so that meant Clairee wasn't there yet. Good. The less we had to put up with here, the better. Sakura was checking her phone, a little frustrated. It was obvious she wanted to text her mom to let her know we arrived safely. I did warn her ahead of time that cell reception was absolute shit here. But maybe... "Honey, if you're trying to get signal, the hill across the street might help."

"R-really?"

"It's spotty at best, but you might be able to get something through." I led her over towards the hill, inching upwards towards the top until she finally managed to get a couple of bars. She's an insanely fast typer. A definitely useful skill in shitty reception areas like this one. Her message managed to send, so now all she was waiting on was a reply.

"S-so, w-who's Clairee?"

I sighed. "Remember when we played Airline last year and one of the cheerleaders was waving at me obnoxiously?" She nodded in response. "That was her. She's my cousin."

Her face flushed. "Oh dear."

"Yeah, downright annoying."

Before Sakura could add anything else, her phone went off. She sighed in relief. "M-Mom got it. A-and I l-let her know how b-bad the signal i-is."

Well, that was good. At least now her family was aware that constant messaging would be out of the question. It took me a couple of years to get used to this kind of a situation, but having no signal for a few hours wasn't the end of the world. Unless you needed to get a hold of emergency services, you really didn't need your phone. Hell, I don't think I even looked at my phone the entire car ride here.

We walked back to the reception hall and helped Mom bring the food we brought inside. The hall is pretty spacious, so with the average turnout we tend to get, there was plenty of room. Takumi had asked yesterday if we would have to actually attend a church service, to which I replied no. We were only renting the hall, nothing more. Sure, if we wanted, we could loiter around the church right next door. That is, if you wanted to risk getting stung by a shit ton of wasps. I really don't understand why whoever runs the church doesn't get rid of the wasp nests over there. I'm also fairly certain there's one under the awning here, which is bad news for Sakura. She's allergic to wasp stings.

"Why is there a piano over there?" Takumi asked.

I rolled my eyes and signed us into the guest book. "It's a church, what did you expect?"

"Good point."

Eventually, more people began to arrive. The only person I really ever looked forward to seeing was my cousin Shaun. Like Clairee, he also went to every reunion, but he was mercifully a much better person to be around. Of course, I mention this now since he just showed up. I introduced him to Takumi and Sakura, and thankfully Sakura didn't seem too nervous. Maybe it's because she knew I wouldn't throw her to the wolves without making sure I could pull her away when needed. Like hell I was gonna leave her by herself with my relatives. They're much too... fuck, I forgot the word.

"Oh, Max! Where's my favourite cousin in the whole wide world?"

Son of a bitch. It was her. If she didn't deal with damage from previous dye jobs, I'm sure she would still be a blonde. "Clairee, for the umpteenth time, you ain't earned the right to call me that."

"Don't be like that, Max!" she smiled. I cringed. Only people I genuinely like and band members are allowed to call me by my middle name. Takumi rarely did, but he had that privilege if he felt like it. Sakura and I are in band together, and since there was another Leon in band, everyone there called me Max. And right now as it stood, Clairee was neither in band nor someone I liked at all. Fuck sake, she doesn't even go to school with me! "Now who are your friends? Aren't you gonna introduce them to me?"

"No."

"Aw, now why not?"

"Go away, Clairee."

"Come on, Max, I brought guests of my own! You can meet them!"

"Give them my condolences for dealing with you."

"Rude." Like I cared at the moment. The last thing I wanted was for her to start bothering my best friend and my girlfriend. I'm sure they would consider that a fate worse than death. "Please, cousin dearest. I know I haven't been the best person to you, but I promise this'll be worth your while. Indulge me just this once? Pretty please?"

I was about to tell her off when Sakura chose now to speak up. "I-I don't think it w-would be too b-bad."

I nearly looked at her as if she had three heads, but I thought about it for a moment. Clairee is definitely one of the crazier relatives I have, and if Sakura, my most adorable sweetheart, has worked up the courage to deal with her and allow me to talk with whoever my cousin brought... well, it'd be rude of me to turn her down. I sighed. "Alright, Clairee. You win. Where are they?"

"Yay!" she cheered. "Thank you, Max! You are not gonna regret this!" She looked towards my girlfriend and her brother. "Y'all wait right here." Without another word, I was unceremoniously dragged by the hand over towards another corner of the reception hall.

"So who are these people, Clairee?" I had to ask.

"I'll be honest, I ran into them by chance," she answered. "But I promise they will not be a bore to you." I fucking hoped not.

Eventually, after weaving our way through numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and little screaming kids, we managed to reach the other corner where some couches were set up. Sitting on one were three individuals, all dressed nicely. A tall blonde man with the most serious face I'd ever seen. Well, that was partially a lie, but it certainly felt like it at the time. To his left, a woman with long lavender waves -- a professional dye job, for certain -- and fringe covering one of her eyes. Likely a fashion statement, since some people at school wore their hair over one or both of their eyes, but it was best not to assume. Finally, to the woman's left, there was a girl about Sakura's age. Her hair was put up in two large twisting twintails, held up by hairbow scrunchies at the top. The drills were streaked in the same shade of purple as the woman's hair. My best guess was that the girl went with the older woman when she got her hair dyed and asked for a little dye job of her own.

It was obvious that these three were a family, given how tight-knit they all seemed to be. How they were related to each other, I had two theories. One was that the two adults were a married couple and the girl was their daughter, likely adopted due to her age. The other was that they were all siblings.

All three of them stood once Clairee and I approached them. They seemed a little anxious about something, but maybe it was my imagination.

"Here he is!" Clairee chirped. Oh great, she's been talking about me to them.

The man spoke up. "You're Leon McCormick?" Wow, he sounded Midwestern.

I nodded. "I apologise for any crazy crap she might've told you. She's known to do that." Ugh, what a time to be self-conscious of my slight accent. Come the fuck on. I sounded normal, I mean, I didn't change the way I speak. It just sucked that I became aware of it and was embarrassed. Even with a slight accent, I'll bet they thought of me as a hick. Yeah, no. Ugh, why am I even thinking about this?

"You little kidder," Clairee giggled, attempting to mess with my hair before I pulled away. "Now I want you to guess who my guests are!"

I had to suppress a groan. Somehow I just knew she wouldn't directly tell me. At least, not yet. I'd worm it out of her sooner or later. "Clairee, I had to wake up at the asscrack of dawn--" This little description drew a giggle from the girl. "--having to get things ready to go, and I've likely lost at least four hours of sleep because of this. Do not make me do any guessing."

"Alright, alright," she conceded. "This is Xander Nohr, Camilla Benson, and Elise Nohr."

Definitely related to each other. I noticed the woman, Camilla, was wearing a wedding ring whilst the man, Xander, wasn't. Okay, definitely siblings. At least, I thought so. But Xander and Elise's surnames... Nohr... Where have I heard that before? I must've seen it somewhere, due to how many bells were going off in my head. I thought of everyone I had met that I could reasonably remember. None of them had that last name. Was it a company name? Nah, not likely. Where? Where...

It was on my birth certificate. I was born Leon Maxwell Nohr. With my adoption, the only change was my last name, but my certificate still said Nohr. Wait a minute...

"Your blood siblings."

Blood...?

Siblings...?

I could only stand there in shock. My obnoxious cousin managed to meet my blood family, who I have been searching for for so long now, by complete fucking chance? These were my real siblings. Shelby and Charlie were my siblings too, nothing would change that. But Xander, Camilla, and Elise. I'm actually related to them by blood. We share the same parents. Or at least one of them, I'm sure. But holy shit. This is my blood family.

Clairee smiled. "I'll leave y'all to catch up." She gave my shoulder a soft squeeze before leaving, likely to go talk with Takumi and Sakura. Oh shit, what's going to happen if they meet my family? I'll worry about that when the moment came for it.

"After all these years," Camilla said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's good to finally see you again, little brother."

"Big brother!" Elise quickly threw her arms around me and giggled. Goddamn, this girl is going to crush a rib or two. Under normal circumstances, I would've pushed her off of me, but there were reasons why I didn't. First, I just found out that she's my little sister, and second, due to that, this is the first time she's ever met me. And as I said before, I had been trying so hard to locate my biological family that I almost lost hope. Maybe the reason for my failure was that I was looking solely on my biological mother's side of the family. I didn't really think about my biological father. If I had tried that, I might've found them much sooner. Oh my God, I'm such an idiot! It's no wonder I couldn't find them. I was looking in the wrong place!

I'm not usually moved by moments like this, but I couldn't help but feel tears sting my eyes. Right here in front of me were my biological siblings. I couldn't even form words. I returned Elise's bone-crushing hug, which was soon turned into a group hug with Xander and Camilla joining. "Finally..." my voice hitched. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. "How did you find me?"

"We heard about what happened to Cecilia," Xander answered. "We don't know why she was in New Orleans, as she didn't have any family there. Friends, yes, but no family. Initially, we thought you'd been sent to an orphanage in Pittsburgh--" Well, I was born there. "--so we tried there. In fact, we tried searching the entire state and found nothing. It wasn't until recently when we broadened our search to the entire country that we managed to find you here."

That explained why it took so long to find me. To me, however, it made sense that I didn't return to Pittsburgh. I was essentially orphaned in Louisiana, I'm gonna end up in a Louisiana orphanage. Or at least I would've if Mom hadn't adopted me mere hours after I was rescued from the flood.

The name usage earlier didn't slip past me. Not that I didn't know my mother's name, just why did Xander call her that? "'Cecilia'?"

"Oh." Xander facepalmed. "We all share the same father, but not the same mother." That made a lot more sense. "My mother died when I was 12. Camilla's mother... Eh, let's just say she and Father didn't get along."

"Probably the shortest marriage my mother was ever in," Camilla added. I get the feeling that if I ever meet her mother, I'm not going to like her.

Curiosity killed the cat. "And what about...?"

"My mom?" Elise piped up, then shrugged. "Walked out on us."

"She left Elise solely in Father's custody and divorce papers on the kitchen table," Camilla said. "It's for the best, she was a very neglectful mother, as was mine. Yours and Xander's mothers were the better two. Sure, Cecilia had a temper, but she genuinely cared for us all. Except Elise, of course. She wasn't born yet."

Now that the question of mothers was answered, what about our father? Xander answered my unspoken question. "As for Father..." He sighed. Don't fucking tell me he's dead too. "He wanted to come with us. He made the trip all the way out here, but..."

I did not like this. "What happened to him?"

"He's in the hospital," Camilla replied.

"The hospital!?" At least he's not dead. I hoped he wasn't.

She nodded. "Had a heart attack. He's doing fine, don't worry, but because of it, he wasn't able to come with us today. We can visit him later, if you'd like."

That is an offer I was not about to turn down. "I'd love to. It does suck that he can't be here though."

"Oh, we know, Leon," she said, patting my shoulder. "After running into your cousin and finding out about the reunion, he insisted that we go along to see you and that he would be fine on his own."

"Sounds stubborn."

"You have no idea," Xander chuckled.

Someone started hollering to get everyone's attention, then Christine led everyone in a prayer. Boring shit to me. I don't subscribe to religion. Once she finished, she announced it was time to eat and everyone began to form into two lines. "You're sitting with me," I smiled. We managed to get in line right behind Takumi and Sakura. Feeling a bit evil, I leaned in close to Sakura's ear and whispered. "Boo."

Sakura shrieked, nearly jumping a foot in the air. Good God, she is just like a little kitten! I couldn't help but laugh and she smacked my arm. "T-that's not f-funny, Max."

"I'm sorry," I tried to say through a fit of giggles.

"Wow, Leon, that's mean," Elise said, but I could tell she was trying not to smile. She found it funny too.

Mom came up behind us with Charlie and Shelby. "Oh good, I thought Clairee was talking your ear off again and kept you from getting in line."

"Nah, Mom, she already did that."

Xander turned his attention towards Mom. "You're his mother?"

"Adoptive, yes," she answered, then offered her hand. "You can call me Sally."

Xander took her hand, shaking it. "Xander. This is Camilla and Elise."

"Mom," I spoke up. "Shelby, Charlie, Takumi, Sakura." I waited until I had their attention. "I'd like for you to meet my family. My blood family." Mom and Shelby gasped while Takumi let out a small 'whoa'. "Xander, Camilla, Elise..." I gestured to each person as I introduced them. "This is my mom, my sister Shelby, my brother Charlie, my best friend Takumi, and his sister, my girlfriend, Sakura."

Elise's face lit up at knowing that Sakura is my girlfriend. Why do I get the feeling Elise is a mischievous type? She squealed, holding Sakura's hands and bouncing. "We're gonna be best friends! I just know it!"

"Y-yeah!" Her tomato red face spoke volumes of how embarrassed she was, but she hasn't turned down offers to be friends with anyone yet. Why would she start now? I just hoped my newfound little sister wouldn't overload her.

\----------

How such a large amount of food can be consumed within a couple of hours is a little baffling, but hey. That's what happens when you have nearly a hundred relatives in one building. But at least this time I can say that I'm blood related to three of them.

What surprises me more than that is the fact that my siblings have never tried lasagna before. How. Just. HOW???

"I guess Father never thought to try making it."

"Neither did I."

"Christ on a bike, you are missing out! Like, seriously!"

"I'll try some!"

"Does it have mushrooms in it? Elise can't eat them."

"The one in the silver pan has no mushrooms in it. The black pan does."

"Yay!"

"Leon, maybe you could take a slice to your dad at the hospital."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"I'll go ahead and save a piece for him."

I could hear my family, both blood and adopted, talking amongst each other about various things, but it was eventually drowned out by the noise of others in the room talking. The loudest, by far, was the kids' table, but that went without saying.

"The silver pan, right?"

Elise's voice caught my attention. "Yeah, the silver pan."

"Awesome!" Elise then proceeded to scoop out a piece and set it on her plate.

"Is, um..." How the hell am I going to ask this? "Can Father eat mushrooms?"

"Oh yeah, he eats them ALL the time," Elise answered. "It's sad that I can't though. I'm allergic."

"Yikes. Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. They're yucky anyway." Says the girl who just said she was sad she can't eat them. Oh boy, I'm definitely going to have my hands full with her. "So why did Sakura and Takumi come along?"

An innocent question. "Sakura wanted to go and her mom said that one of her siblings had to go with her. Takumi volunteered. It helps since we all go to the same school together and all in the same grade."

Elise's eyes widened. "She doesn't look that old!"

I chuckled. "Nah, she's actually about your age. She skipped a couple of grades."

"Oooohhhh."

"Yep." Now it was my turn to ask a question. "What's Father like? How did he take my absence?" Well, two questions, but really, who's counting?

"He's really nice," she answered, grabbing a couple of rolls. "There's never been a problem we couldn't go to him for." So far, I'm liking my father. "He's really great."

That's certainly good news. I'm not sure how I'd handle him if he wasn't pleasant to be around. "He did talk about you a lot before we found you." Oh? "He was always saying how much he missed you and wondered what you were up to."

Wow. The only thing I could guess was that my absence really ate at him. I know it ate at me when Mom told me that I was adopted. I pondered for years just where my birth family was, but now I don't have to anymore. They're here with me. I'm not alone. I actually have blood relatives. I bet Father feels the same way. I'll have to ask him when I go see him in the hospital.

"Seeing you again is going to be like Christmas!" Elise chirped.

I laughed. "Yeah, Christmas in September!"

We made our way back to our table and rejoined the conversation. I can definitely say this was the most fun I had ever had at a family reunion.

\----------

It was nearing 3 in the afternoon when people began to leave. The leftover food was being packed up and the tables were being put away. Takumi, Xander, and I helped with the tables while Sakura, Camilla, Elise, and Mom helped my other relatives to clear the food. It was one thing having to do this when you're desperate to leave and go home, but it was another entirely when you actually don't want to leave and don't want the event to end. But all good things come to an end, right? I guess that includes reunions.

But at least Xander, Camilla, and Elise won't be leaving my life anytime soon.

"Alrighty!" I could hear Clairee call from behind us. "Mama says we're about to go, so... I hope you guys will be alright and won't get lost."

"Don't worry, Clairee," Xander assured. "We'll be fine."

Xander and Takumi waved goodbye to her and she left the building. Ah hell, she's definitely not my favourite cousin, but she is the reason I was reunited with my biological family. "I'll be right back," I told my brother and friend, then ran after my cousin. God, I hope she hasn't left yet. I soon spotted her just as she was about to get into her car. "Clairee!" I called, running to her.

"Max?" She stepped back out of the car, clearly confused as to why I was there.

I haven't done this since we were kids, but I pulled her in for a hug, holding tightly. "Thank you," I said.

She smiled and returned the hug. "Anytime, cousin dearest." Yeah, I think she's now earned the right to call me Max. "Y'all drive safe, okay?"

"You too," I answered as we pulled apart. She waved at me once she got into the car. I waved back as she drove off and it made me think. Maybe she's not the worst cousin I have. I mean, I do have a large family and I definitely consider her one of the crazier ones, but it's because of her that my family count has grown. If it weren't for her, I would still be searching for my blood family. It's because of her that I don't have to keep looking anymore. And I truly thank her for that.

As I walked back into the building to help put the rest of the tables away, a thought occurred to me. Maybe family reunions aren't so bad after all.


End file.
